


Reconcilliations, Reconsiderations

by KABN



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Entrapta mentioned, F/F, Gen, Guilt, hopefully it's not too rough as a result, this one's a bit longer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26101321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KABN/pseuds/KABN
Summary: It's Scorpia's Princess Prom, but the scars are still too fresh. There is much to heal, to consider.
Relationships: Adora & Catra & Kyle & Lonnie & Rogelio (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Hordak (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81
Collections: Hordak & Catra





	Reconcilliations, Reconsiderations

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank Shadsie (or shadsiethewriter on tumblr) for helping me write this. I'd also like to thank the wonderful comments from my prior work as well as the general community for inspiring me.

**Reconciliations, Reconsiderations**

Truly rebuilding the Scorpion Kingdom was a monumental task, with the most intact piece, the Horror Hall, merely being the peak of a massive citadel that protruded above the surface like the floating tip of an iceberg. Too much of the underground city had been lost to collapses caused by the Horde’s excessive mining for resources, and even the ruins were left barely recognizable despite the relatively recent desecration. Much was lost, and carelessness could threaten to lose even more.

Queen Scorpia was not in an enviable position, tasked with both preserving and recovering the buried history while also welcoming her new subjects be they the Fright Zone’s original occupants, former residents of the Horde barracks, or various war refugees.

Yet she welcomed the hardship all the same; the sheer variety of the hands involved not only encouraging, but requiring to build something entirely new that wouldn’t have to be compared to what was lost. It was a complicated, selfish relief that her new history lessons barely redeemed, but it was in her nature to look at the bright side of things.

She hoped -and that hope gave her strength- that her attitude would shine through in the rebuilding efforts, and her new Kingdom would be all the brighter for it as well, irregardless of how much of it ended up being underground.

“Don’t mind all the scaffolding, most of the settlements here are temporary until we dig up enough space.” The Queen preemptively assured her guests as she piloted the skiff. The state of her kingdom was far from ideal for her first hosted Princess Prom, but she was too proud of what they had built to not showcase it to her friends.

“I don’t get it, why even bother mucking around in the dirt so much?” Catra, her main guest’s Plus One questioned, equally curious and condescending, because some habits were too ingrained to break easily. “Fright Zone was habitable enough above the ground while _we_ lived here.” 

“Yeah, but we would have to really scrape and live off of rations bars, get stuffy in barrack bunks, and source most needs from territories that are no longer occupied.” Scorpia clarified, managing to inject chipper life into what should have been residential logistics. “Also ever since the Black Garnet was restored the climate of the Fright Zone has been even more ~KRA-THUUM, FSHHH, _ominous wind and thunder_ ~ and frighty-stuff, so… it’s even more of a hazard now to live in easily-electrocuted metal bunkers.”

“Huh, so that’s why all the She-ra magic plantlife is gone.” Adora observed, with a weird feeling of relief. Seeing the industrial compound she grew up in absolutely covered with bright plantlife had just been… weird. 

The same bittersweet feelings were present towards the reimagination of the Fright Zone in general. It had been home once, and there were memories here both good, bad, or just incredibly mundane. Would the cranes and excavators remove and tunnel through that old perch Catra used to escape to? The shortcut she took to make it in time for the cadet training while chewing through a ration bar? Her old dorms?

All that, along with Shadow Weaver being gone. Sometimes, it felt like the world was changing too quickly, like the time they suddenly had stars, and the skies were filled with an endless fleet of pale ships…

“And why are you brooding over there?” Catra dug into her side, both a playful shove and an aggressive cuddle. “Did Sparkles’s nonsense about me wearing the same old suit to the prom rub off on you?”

Changing, but also healing. It was more exciting than scary, much more. “You look as dashing as the first time.”

“I know, right? Queenie is just annoyed she can’t get away with doing the same!” 

“We’re here!” Scorpia announced, slowing their transport down by the entrance to the Horror Hall. “Sorry about having to take a skiff of all things to my Prom. But, you know, so much construction to wade through. I promise the actual ballroom is much fancier, we even have indoor curtains!”

“Those never made sense to me.” Adora muttered idly, smoothing out her dress after hopping off. “I guess that’s what makes them fancy.”

“I know right!” The night’s host agreed and proceeded to hit it off about all the other customs and decorations involved in hosting as they walked through the renovated Hall. The Queen was eager to talk about the murals they walked by as well, uttering the names of each historical figure with great joy.

Meanwhile, Catra found herself lagging behind. Scorpia’s voice as she chattered on about anything and everything… the sight was as familiar as the memories of yesterday. Except Adora seemed to appreciate it much better than she ever had. It felt… wrong, to reinsert herself into that familiarity, after all she went through with the adamantly friendly former Force Captain.

....she refused to dwell on those past regrets any further, instead wrapping herself up in Adora’s gold and white coat. Or was it her coat by this point? Their stuff was as hard to separate as they were nowadays.

“Wow. Catra, are those…!?”

Her reminiscing smile half fell half froze once she looked up towards the reception desk. She knew in theory that some former Horde members remained here as Scorpion Kingdom citizens, but she hadn’t quite considered the implications of that theory.

“Adora, you know of…” Somehow, the arachnid Queen’s joy increased exponentially. “Oh! I forgot you guys were in the same squad as the Hyper Horde Trio!” 

“Please stop calling us that.” Lonnie drawled half-heartedly, stepping around her booth to return Scorpia’s hug before she could reach over it and scatter all the assorted items.

“But we match! Super Pal, Hyper Horde? Yours even has alliteration! Unless you would rather not be associated with the Horde ever again or even after the end of your days?”

“Nah, hard to feel much about something you were born into.” The former soldier waved her concerns off as she returned to her station to pick up what appeared to be a questionnaire.

“Raghh, wrhhh hr’nn.” The lizardman added, looking up from his job of sorting the filled papers into various categories. 

“Yeah, Rogelio nailed it. It’s like a fish having an opinion on being wet. Except I guess the water was kinda gross.” 

“I didn’t know you guys would be here!” Adora greeted her former squadmates with familiarity that caught Catra off-guard. “Is Kyle around too? He didn’t get mistaken for a waiter again, did he?”

“It was a last-minute gig. And nah, he just went downstairs to collect the latest batch of completed surveys. Turns out people are too lazy to climb stairs, so we put down a drop-box.” She shrugged, with an ease that implied the lack of tension between them was mutual. “Here is one for you by the way, we give these out to every Princess and guest. Not sure how applicable it is to a Princess without an actual Kingdom, but it’s stuff about how Horde Clones have been getting along with regular folk. The bosses figured the Prom is too good of an opportunity to question a whole bunch of rulers on their subjects.”

A large part of Catra wanted to sidestep the whole encounter by simply not speaking unless directly spoken to. It would be easy, the Prom would keep her from out of sight and out of mind all night. But at the same time, ignoring her once-underlings after the way they last saw each other was an invitation for paranoid thoughts.

_Might as well just say hi. Damn all the goody-two-shoes rubbing off on me and being considerate._

“So you guys ended up staying in the Fright Zone?” She hoped she sounded as casual as she intended. “I figured you would bail to literally anywhere else and get a new identity like most smart people did. -not that I’m calling you dumb! I’m calling you smart, you always were.”

“Right.” Lonnie did not seem impressed by her half-recovered compliment. “And we did bail. We actually bailed before the whole invasion thing happened. So you didn’t even notice?”

“A lot of stuff happened all at once!” She instinctively defended herself. “How was I supposed to know what you were up to?”

“Adora knew. But we were actually kinda relieved she kept it private, I figured there was a good chance you held a grudge against us for being deserters. There was precedent for it.” At that, Scorpia attempted to laugh the subject off with a ‘she wouldn’t do that’, but even she didn’t seem fully confident. “Anyway, you gonna fill a Horde Clone Social Integration Survey, or…?”

“Uh, sure. Every bit helps and all that.”

“And no, we don’t live here like some apparently dumb people do. We kinda travel a lot but occasionally settle in Dryll. Kyle likes meeting different people, Rogelio likes the sights, and I like the prep-work involved in moving around.”

“Ah. Good for you?” Catra offered, suddenly regretting her inability to climb up and away to some desolate corner due to wearing actual boots.

“I finished it, here!” Her girlfriend interjected with an already-filled survey complete with notes in the margins.

“As overly diligent as ever, I see.” The former soldier accepted the paper with some fondness, passing it off to Rogelio’s pile. “Have fun with the Prom, Scorpia really went all out for it.”

“Will do!”

“Aww, thanks guys! Come over here for a group hug this time!”

Catra found herself shuffling downstairs along with her companions, feeling confused and uneasy with questionably unresolved tension.

“Should I have apologized for being a shitty boss?” She muttered it audibly as she locked arms to nuzzle close with the love of her life. It was a thought, more than a question, but so close to Adore, she felt comfortable voicing it.

Before, they had talked about how she had been all but completely losing it towards the last days of the Etherian Horde, but only in terms of what it meant for her, and in terms of general recollections instead of any specific names or events. She had honestly… not forgotten about the trio, but had readily assumed and accepted that they would never meet again.

That strategy had worked concerning Sparkles, her mother, and the Portal incident, so it figured she wouldn’t get that lucky twice.

“They apparently travel all over the place but happened to be here now of all times?” She complained as they descended a twisting path of stairs and tunnels.

“I mean, I kinda expected it.” Adora admitted, holding her just tight enough that she wouldn’t act on her impulse to run off and brood in an isolated corner. “They usually do jobs for the same ‘bosses’, Entrapta or Hordak, and both of them are here tonight.”

“Those two? Seriously? I thought… I dunno, they would want to distance themselves from everything Horde related. Lonnie seemed to hate it there towards the end, everyone did.”

Neither of her escorts pointed out whose fault that was. Maybe it didn’t occur to them, but she was more inclined to believe doing so would have been reaching for the low-hanging fruit.

“I think it’s because Hordak pays them with a lot of ration bars as well as money. The stuff’s recipe is actually in public domain now, but it’s not worth producing it unless it’s on an industrial scale.” Scorpia provided. “We actually made some here for the workers until we got the agriculture off the ground. Couldn’t do much for its taste, but it was really cost effective.”

“The… ration bars? That’s the opposite of a reason to do anything!”

“They weren’t that bad.” Her beautiful but apparently insane wife disagreed bashfully. “I mean, actual food is much better, but the bars would be really convenient and efficient while travelling, both to eat and even to trade, I know of lots of places that would appreciate even just one stock of non perishable foodstuff. Also they must have been really nutritious, just look at Lonnie, or at Scorpia.”

“You are pretty well-developed yourself.” She couldn’t help but tease, but they were interrupted before their flirtations could snowball any further.

“AH!” Kyle managed to slam against the Prom’s Host like a brick wall right as they rounded a corner, because he was Kyle. Dropping numerous completed surveys in the process like confetti. “Sorry about that, enjoythenight!”

“...Kyle is pretty scrawny.” Catra pointed out once he moved on after half-performing several salutes and scrambling to retrieve the papers. “But everyone did keep stealing from him if he didn’t drop the stuff first.”

  
  


_Damn, this really is much fancier._ She let out a whistle as they entered the ball room. 

It was grand and somewhat conical, carved into the dirt in circular patterns like the rattle of a snake, the rings reinforced with various metal braces that were both structural and decorative. There were obvious signs of both collapse and renovation -implying a long history-, mostly hidden by the decorative indoor curtains Scorpia mentioned, flowing down from the impressively high ceiling and brushing against the balconies that housed the guests who preferred some measure of privacy. It was rather similar to the Snow Kingdom Prom, in that way. Or maybe the set-up was mandatory for all Proms? She didn’t really have a frame of reference.

And like her last Prom, there were way too many Princesses from even the most obscure corners of Etheria. What surprised her more was the number of non-Etherians among the guests, in the form of both the stranded Horde Clones and other interplanetary visitors. Etheria had always been a melting pot with its countless species, and maybe now she was seeing why. The Princesses were just way too friendly.

“Now we gotta do the reception bow. I know, a bit awkward for the host to run around like this, but I just had to be the one to chauffeur you two!” Scorpia announced, clapping with her claws as she rushed off to properly receive them at her throne.

‘you two’. Not ‘wildcat’. Not ‘my former bestie’. Or even ‘my friends’. Maybe she was reading too much into, having gotten too used to Scorpia’s terms of affection from the past, but would the Scorpion Queen welcome the Princess of Power better if her Plus One had been literally anyone else?

_I’m more uneasy about this Prom than the one I tried to blow up._ She chided herself. Maybe Glimmer’s weird dad had a point about some people trying to create problems even when there were none, now that the war was over.

“Hold… one, two, three.” Her ridiculous partner counted as they bowed. And just like that, the formalities were over as well.

Now what?

Adora had several Princess buddies she could hit it off with, Sparkles was off on a balcony to make out -or worse, shamelessly flirt- with her boyfriend, and Scorpia would be busy ceremoniously sitting on her throne for a good while.

Eventually, just as predicted, her girlfriend got pulled away into one conversation or another. She would give her petty grief later about leaving poor Catra alone all over again and laugh her ass off about it, but until then, she had to get through the night somehow.

And… she found herself enjoying it, despite the mood set by the prior unexpected encounters. The music was gentle enough to be enjoyable instead of headache-inducing, she had ended up getting an interesting history lesson from a non-Etherian magicat, and the food… well, the Salineas corner might have found itself bereft of all its fish. 

_The sea sucks, so how come sea cuisine is like this?_ She wondered to herself as she stuffed her jacket’s pockets to the brim with some sort of salmon. She then proceeded to search for another suitable pocket to put a ‘reservation’ on the juicy-looking fried octopus, but instead her claws brushed against the questionnaire she had folded and put away.

_Oh, right._ She groaned. “Might as well get this thing out of the way.”

Kyle’s little station by the entrance had several pens laid out for this exact purpose, so she swiped one before attempting to go up one of the oversized curtains for privacy, severely underestimating how much proper footwear hindered her ability to climb. Instead, she salvaged the situation by making it look like she totally meant to use the thing as a makeshift uncomfortable hammock.

Most of the fields were inapplicable by default since she wasn’t a Princess. And she filled in the general personal information with absent-minded ease, smirking with some glee as she filled the ‘surname’ space with Adora’s. She then got to skip another good chunk as they didn’t have a Clone living with or around them, but she noted how the questions were asked in a way that both raised awareness regarding dietary needs and ill-advised topics. 

The former ‘guest’ of Prime felt relief knowing that those issues were being addressed, but she absolutely refused to acknowledge those feelings explicitly. So what if she was biased in what papers made it to the Queen of Brightmoon’s desk first?

And then came the questions she _could_ answer, revealing a glaring issue.

Since she didn’t get out of Castle Brightmoon much except to accompany Adora, her exposure to Clones almost entirely consisted of her experiences with Hordak. A relationship built on lies and violence.

Inevitably, it occurred to her that if the survey’s purpose was to ensure the fair treatment and well-being of Prime’s former slaves, she would be the one who made the potential abuse from Etherians apparent to begin with.

_Don’t be ridiculous_ . She snarled and pocketed the piece of paper after crumpling it. _Hordak had thirty years to learn how not to be so damn gullible. If anything I provided some essential life experience._

She almost puked at how much her thoughts sounded like Shadow Weaver’s words. Like mother, like daughter. She barely managed to curb the urge to puke by stuffing herself with salmon.

_Screw this, I don’t have to… do all this alone._

She slid off her makeshift hammock, scanning the crowd for familiar faces, eventually settling on the Sea Princess lounging on a corner couch. Not her first choice to ask directions from, but it would do.

“Hey Mermista.” She greeted dryly, aiming to get over this interaction as fast as possible. “Do you know where Adora ran off? About this tall, wearing a dress, great arms.”

“Hey Horde Scum.” The Princess shot back, equally unamused. “Are you gonna blow up the Prom again because your girlfriend left you unattended?”

“Wow, being really helpful right there. Have you seen her or not?” 

Mermista held her gaze for several moments, before dropping it with a sub-vocal ‘whatever’.

“I think she went upstairs to help her Horde friends manage the greeting and the paperwork. Guess she still didn’t get the memo about how proms are supposed to be fun and chill and all that.”

She threw her arms up with mock outrage. “They get to be Horde friends, but I am still stuck being Horde Scum?”

“Unlike yours, I don’t know their names or faces. Shocker, I know. I’m susceptible to basic sociological fallacies.”

If she didn’t know better than to engage in pettiness while feeling so heated, she would have snarled a biting remark to have the last word. Perfuma’s anger management advice also dictated to do at least a minute of controlled breathing… but she chose to neglect remembering that part, as she often did. 

_So she’s with Lonnie’s bunch… yeah, I’m not joining that group project._

The cat aimlessly sulked through the ballroom, no longer in a mood to actually participate and eventually stalking off into the tunnels -though they more resembled streets- to escape the crowd. Judging by the still-present scaffolding used to renovate them, this wasn’t a portion meant for the guests. Which suited her just fine, she would be less likely to be bothered until at least one of her friends was freed up.

But of course, her luck continued to be miserable, as she could hear voices from around the corner. Identical voices.

“Speak, and speak freely.” The first one commanded and projected confidence, as if trying to carry the weight of the conversation for them both.

“I’m hesitant Brother, even after I read the self-help books you provided.” The second one, despite possessing the same pitch and volume, sounded much younger. “I’ve… experienced the complicated nature of emotions, accepted them, and you have inspired me to muster the courage to push through these complications nonetheless. No, my hesitation lies in the logical factors. A yet another former invader getting invited to this gathering by a Princess… there are political implications, and you might also disapprove of the imitation.”

“There is no shame in feeling fear, being free makes it possible to be lost.” The rhythmic tap of a cane against the paved ground accompanied the words, keeping beat with the distant Prom music. “But don’t be foolish by taking only the fear from my history of mistakes, there is so much more than that to be learned. That too, would go against logic.”

“Emotions can be logical. Emotions can cloud logic. Logic can inspire emotions. All are true. Fascinating, but also confusing.” The eavesdropper rolled her eyes at the sound of a hurried pen-scrawl taking notes. “That’s to be appreciated… maybe I must reevaluate.”

“Your conclusions are exemplary. Enjoy your night Brother, explore your relations and emotions without fear weighing you down, decide if your feelings are real or mere imitations. And after, find me again if you still seek clarity, I will hear you out as a friend.”

Catra hurriedly leaned against a wall to try and appear to be casually picking at her claws. The Clone that walked past -dressed in the garb of some Kingdom she didn’t recognize- did not pay her any mind, too engrossed in contemplation as he walked off to rejoin the party. 

_Entrapta is really rubbing off on him, isn’t she? At least he didn’t start ranting about imperfections being beautiful again._ She smirked at the memory as she peeked around the corner. And sure enough, Hordak stood in the hallway, seemingly mulling over the conversation with the gravitas of someone planning a coup as opposed to offering relationship advice.

She half-intended to step out and take care of what has been bugging her at its root… but halted when the former Lord of the Fright Zone grunted in pain -stabbing his cane into the ground in momentary frustration- and stalked off to sit on a wall-adjacent stone bench, taking off the expansive ornate bracelet on his bicep as he did so. 

Belatedly she recognized that the jewelry was actually a form of replacement for his armor, and the golden bands even matched with his gold-trimmed dress. She had to wonder whether he had such a get-up just laying around or if it had been crafted specifically for the occasion. 

_Would Adora not have ditched her if she had heeded Glimmer’s advice and put actual effort into getting ready for the Prom?_ The ridiculous petty part of her whispered, fuming at the resting Clone for making her feel underdressed.

Her fingers dug into the earthen wall in frustration, producing sparks and loud scraping.

“Why are you here?” The Lord of Dryll begrudgingly asked, no longer possessing plausible deniability for not noticing her.

Catra eyed his thin bare limb uncertainly, having half expected to get yelled at to get out rather than being treated to the rather casual display of frailty.

“Well, you see…” _Here goes nothing._ “It’s been bugging me all night that I apologized to your wife for… everything, but not to you… even if I hurt Entrapta more. So I’m here to make amends, alright?”

“Make amends…” 

She didn’t at all expect for this to go as smoothly as it did with Entrapta -her instant forgiveness had been a borderline miracle-, but neither did she except for Hordak to calmly take a few painkiller pills from his purse, wordlessly regard her for several moments with a dull expression, and… laugh.

She reluctantly laughed along. “Yeah I know, it’s ridiculous for us both to be here of all places… back in the Fright Zone as guests… haha...”

It was getting progressively harder to deny that it wasn’t happy laughter, not at all.

“You…” Hordak snapped the fancy bracelet back in place, flexing his talons into a fist to test the digits and rising to his full height as the laughter faded into a growl. “Making amends, apologizing… of course I accept.”

“What?” She was severely confused, pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t having a bizarre dream where Bow got body-swapped with Hordak.

“Assuming that your terms for reconciliation with me are the same as the ones you have with my wife, then I accept.“ He impatiently clarified, his crimson glare glued to her as it sought for signs of deception.

“What terms? I just apologized… and she accepted.”

“I know that subtext doesn’t offer trouble for you like it does for us, Catra. I have to assume your blindness is voluntary.” He scowled, then paused, purposefully seating himself back on the bench and continuing calmly. “Entrapta was uncertain whether your ‘apology’ was a blank check for all of your offenses, including death-by-exile, or merely for quite rudely yelling at her during a delicate surgery. You didn’t offer any clarification.”

_What?_

“OF COURSE it wasn’t just for yelling at her while messing around in my neck! I had so much more to apologize for!”

“That’s why it was so confusing, but still reasonable compared to such an audacious plea, demanding all that with barely a sentence.” Hordak all but spat, his temper already rising before he reigned it back in. “But it’s not my place to arbitrate her dealings. It wasn’t the exchange itself that formed the terms, but the conduct regarding it once the threat posed by Prime was resolved.”

“I’ve barely even seen Entrapta since the war ended!”

“Exactly. So it was quite reasonable to interpret the implicit agreement as mutually avoiding each other to never again plague her life with your presence. Convenient for you, and serviceable for Entrapta. And as I said, I too would happily agree to seeing as little of you as possible. There are unpleasant memories, and I agree that simply avoiding them is the most practical solution.”

_Oh._

Catra blinked, mentally replaying the failed warlord’s claims to search for twisting of words and intent, for cruelty. But Hordak wasn’t Shadow Weaver, there was merely the blunt frustration of someone explaining the obvious.

“For what it’s worth,” He continued, snapping her out a thoughtless daze. “I am regretful in my Horde’s actions in shaping you. It was irresponsible to allow Shadow Weaver near upcoming recruits… even under the dogma that I still clung to, shadowy figures were explicitly something to hide children away from.”

Any other time, she would have laughed at the hilarity of the statement, but her mind was still reeling from her unknowing screw-up regarding Dryll’s Princess. 

“What am I supposed to do?”

“...stay away from me? Those were the supposed terms of your apology.”

“No, I’m not talking about that!” Adora offered her boundless love, Glimmer and Bow actively welcomed her friendship, and Melog did almost nothing but listen to her; so Hordak was a questionable choice to seek comfort from. Maybe like most regrettable things she did, it was a mere matter of convenience. “Entrapta was… the one thing I thought I made right, but turns out I was wrong even about that. So what am I supposed to do?”

“She accepted your apology regardless of what it was intended as. What more do you want? Her friendship as if nothing happened?” The crimson glare narrowed, seemingly burning brighter in its intensity. “Do you believe her naive enough to not recognize what you almost cost her? Or do you not recognize what a life is worth? The joy, the love, the beauty; all almost extinguished by your whim?”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from my former partner-in-war!” She crossed her arms, hugging herself defensively, and looked away. 

There was such a silence that she almost believed that the towering warlord had snuck away without a sound. Or at least, she wanted to believe that.

“There isn’t a moment of rest, where I don’t think about how much love I cost Etheria, each as intense and meaningful as the one I feel for Entrapta.”

“I could say the same, about Adora.”

“The worst of your sins… derived from mine. They shouldn’t have to plague anyone.”

“And yours derived from Prime, and mine also from Shadow Weaver.” She sighed. “They were mine nonetheless.”

“It feels wrong, does it not?“ He sounded as weary as she felt. “To stand here while so many who deserved better can’t?”

Briefly exhausted, she admitted to herself what she already knew. It wasn’t due to luck that the topic of Brightmoon’s former Queen never came up, but thanks to her daughter’s pity.

“It’s impossible.” Uttering the word felt as heavy as a death sentence, as it always did. “I can’t ever make up for all my mistakes…”

“Impossibilities are like imperfections. An opportunity to find beauty.”

She chuckled. “Another nugget of wisdom from the nerd Princess?”

“Yes.” A smile, as fond as a smile could be. “She’s wonderful, it’s so dreamlike that the possibility of waking up terrifies me. So I can understand, why you would desire proper reconciliations with her.”

“I’m not that into her, but… she was a friend.” 

“I can also understand how much a friend can mean.”

_So damn sappy… the good side sucks._ She dusted the dirt off her hands, and stretched the stiffness out of her posture. 

“I know I’m repeating myself, but what am I supposed to do?” 

“How am I the one to seek that answer from? I had half a mind to ask you the same, not everyone can inspire a She-ra.”

“And not everyone can engineer the clean-up and rebuilding of a whole planet. Definitely not me.” That thought had gnawed at her for more than a few restless nights, she had half-expected that voicing it would consume her on the spot. “The peak of my performance was making the war worse, but for what came after… the best I could do was shaping up Sparkles’s paperwork.” 

“Don’t downplay your efforts, Royal Advisor Catra.” Hordak rose from his seat again, not with anger this time, but with ease. “I had doubts about the purpose of this gathering of Princesses, but maybe there’s merit to its claims of unification.”

“That’s a lot of words to say ‘apology accepted’.” She teased, surprised at her own lack of bite.

“I will see you later, Royal Advisor. But maybe not tonight, I have reached my tolerance quota for socializing, and I suspect my wife is feeling the same. She is quite popular among the royal members of the Etherian Makers Community.” 

“My wife is probably sewing up the curtain that I tore up.” The cat joked, briefly choking over the likeliness of the possibility. “She could keep going at it all night, I should try and keep up.”

Her former enemy nodded with a grunt, and accompanied her as they wordlessly -yet comfortably- walked back to the ballroom.

Fortunately, Adora didn’t prove to be ridiculous enough to undertake the patching up of her collateral damage. 

Catra took a deep breath, walking purposefully towards the entrance that would lead back up to the Horror Hall, and the reception desk.

“Oh. Hi Catra!” Upon spotting her, Kyle perked up from the desk he was now apparently manning. “Adora went downstairs to look for you.”

She bit her lips, drawing upon what courage she could. “I should wait for her here then. Anything I can… help… you guys with?”

Lonnie eyed her suspiciously with a quirked brow. “Nah, we just chilling, there aren’t any more guests scheduled to arrive. Wanna make fun of the overly pompous coats they left to hang?”

She grinned. “I’ve already grabbed all the grub worth grabbing, so that sounds way better than whatever they have left down there.”


End file.
